Spotify is the heart and soul of the music industry today. This particular streaming service is the definite world leader with its 140 million subscribers. However, other streaming services also make a great contribution to the music industry growth. During the first six months of 2017, revenues from them made up 62% of the modern music market. A report from the Recording Industry Association of America shows that these numbers have been steadily growing for the last few years. This means that any music band or singer who wants to succeed today have to get their art onto the streaming services as well as establish a solid online presence.

Spotify RISE Gives a New Direction to Musicians

Spotify RISE launched at the end of 2017 and this service is sure to change the way music industry works today. It’s dedicated specifically to promoting handpicked bands and singers, making it much easier for young talents to become noticed. RISE focuses all the power of the music streaming industry and directs it specifically at highlighting the most talented artists who seek a chance at fame. Seeing how digital streaming has resulted in the fastest growth in music sales in over two decades (The Guardian), the efficiency of RISE isn’t in doubt.

The launch of this service marked another change in the algorithm of a modern musician’s road to success. A few decades ago one could rely only on some local festivals and competitions as well as talking to the bar owners and begging for a chance to perform. Today, a music band should go digital first, establishing its presence online and joining the streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, etc.

In the meantime, any group aiming for success should also establish its own website that will be connected to their streaming accounts. It will give your fans a chance to find more information about the band/artist and provide you with a great platform for communicating with them. However, you’ll need to take some time in order to choose the best hosting for musicians. This service package will differ from that of a regular business as music artists’ pages contain a lot more ‘heavy’ visuals. Therefore, even when using shared hosting, you should look for packages with unlimited bandwidth and storage.

So, the plan of action for an emerging band today goes like this:

Record your music.

Set up a website and upload your music/clips there.

Register with streaming services and upload your tracks there.

Test your luck with Spotify RISE.

Market your albums using all the regular strategies, like social media ads, product features, and promotion by influencers.

As you can see, this development strategy does make music look like any other business dealing in digital goods. And it’s important to understand that this is exactly what it is today. Your songs are a product and your job is to attract buyers/listeners to it. That’s the most effective way to monetize the intangible art that is music and streaming services help you do this.

Where Is the Line Between Business and Art?

There is no line when it comes to selling digital records. Art and business are the two sides of the same coin and both are equally important. On one hand, the band/artist must create great music that people will love. On the other, they have to get into full business mode in order to market and sell their tracks and albums. These two processes must go hand in hand, as failing in one will result in failing the other as well. Streaming services are so amazing because they help artists sell their ‘products’ easily as they essentially take over the bulk of the ‘business’. With the RISE and other services like this emerging, we can hope to see even more talented artists getting their deserved time on the big stages of the world as their talent will be brought into the light.

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